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Table of Contents of Between Pit and Pedestal: Women in the Middle Ages

Introduction

Pits and Pedestals

Chapter One: Written With Your Own Hand — Medieval Writers on Women’s Nature and Roles

Everyday Life

Chapter Two: Be It Ever So Humble — Women at Home — Household Management, Houses, Food, Clothing

Chapter Three: From A Crooked Rib — Women as Patients and Medical Practitioners

Chapter Four: The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker — Working Women in Medieval Cities

Personal Life

Chapter Five: “Like A Dog To His Master” — Personal Relationships in Theory and Practice

Chapter Six: Never on Sunday — Sexual Mores and Behavior

Spiritual Life

Chapter Seven: Naked Statues And Holy Bones — Woman’s Place in the Medieval Church

Chapter Eight: Floating To The Rafters — Lifestyles of Saints and Religious Women

Chapter Nine: If Ignorance Were A Woman’s Passport To Paradise — Women in Heretical Sects

Chapter Ten: Abracadabra — Superstitions and “Witchcraft”

Secular Life

Chapter Eleven: Whipped With A Handful of Flax — Women in Various Legal Systems

Chapter Twelve: Displayed No Womanly Cowardice — Female Landholders and Politicians

Chapter Thirteen: Never Better Ruled By Any Man — Women as Consorts, Regents, and Rulers

Cultural Life

Chapter Fourteen: Eat, Drink, And Be Merry — Amusements, Entertainments, and Ceremonies

Chapter Fifteen: “The Working Of A Woman’s Wit” — Women’s Roles in Learning and Literacy

Chapter Sixteen: That Which Talent Confers — Women in Literature and Art

Epilogue

Appendix I: Class Structure

Appendix II: Money

Appendix III: Life Expectancy for Women

Glossary

Notes and Citations

Selected Bibliography

Index